I am not alone in my admiration for Eleanor Roosevelt and the contributions she made during her life. She is, I believe, one of the most remarkable, compassionate, empathetic individuals to influence our country’s history. Her cottage, Val-Kill (Kill is Dutch for Stream) is part of our National Park System in Hyde Park, NY. Touring her home you see a comfortable, welcoming space which was visited by famous and infamous leaders from around the world. She was not only First Lady of our only four term president, author of 13 books, 7000 “My Day” newspaper columns, first U.S. representative to the U.N and author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to name just a few of her accomplishments she was also considered the First Lady of the World. 
Looking through “A Personal Album by A. David Gurewitsch’s book about Eleanor, I was stunned to see this photo of her gathering flowers from her garden to bring into her home. She loved having fresh flowers especially marigolds in her home, and enjoyed arranging them for her guest’s room.
This incredible woman enjoyed receiving a simple bouquet, a single rose or a handful of daisies.
She changed the world, she made it a better place for all of us and she saw flowers as a gift of love and friendship. I have this one small thing in common with this great person and perhaps you do too. Which means we all have the potential inside us to help make the world a better place.
